Adjustable snow plow



Nov. 5, 1957 H. v. CORK, JR 2,811,792

. ADJUSTABLE snow PLow Filed July 30. A1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV EV TOR.

Nv.s,1957 H.v.-ORK,JR "2,811,792

ADJUSTABLE SNOW PLOW Filed July 50, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

f y@ I 762575 States Pgt e ADJUSTABLE sNow PLow Herbert V. Cork, Jr., Chicago, lll., assignor of one-third to Herbert V. Cork, Sr., and one-third to Solomon Penrod, both of Chicago, Ill.

Application July 30, 1954, Serial No. 446,883

Claims. (Cl. 37-53) This invention relates in general to plows, and more particularly to those having wheels or other ground-engaging means and a single blade member supported thereby.

A principal object of the invention is to simplify, and

materially reduce the work necessary to, the tasks of clearing snow from walks, moving loose grain, spreading wet concrete, clearing railroad cars, or the like.

This objecet is attained in part by providing novel means for mounting a scraper type of blade member as a pusher plow on wheels, or other ground-engaging means, toeliminate lifting of the snow or other material to be moved as well as lifting and supporting of a shovel or similar tool, and in part by providing for selective angular adjustment of the blade member relative to the groundengaging means, so that the manner and direction of depositjof the snow or other material moved by the plow may readily be varied to best cope with the particular circumstances of any given situation.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a plow having an angularly adjustable blade which is cheap and easy to manufacture and is particularly adapted for knockdown shipment and simple assembly by the user with a minimum of effort.

A further object is the provision of a manually operableV pusher type of plow which will adapt itself to operators of different heights.

Another object is to provide such a plow which will take up a minimum amount of storage space and may readily be hung up on a wall, or the like, when not in use.

In the present embodiment of the invention, these several objects are attained by the provision in a plow having an axle, or other transversely extending supporting means, of a novel mounting bracket for a blade member in the form of a substantially U-shaped channel secured at its base to the blade member and having multipart slots in its rearwardly extending arms for slidably receiving the transverse means or axle, with each part of each such slot interconnected at its rear end with each other part of that slot and terminating in a forward end spaced longitudinally from the forward end of each other part of the same multi-part slot, whereby selective movements of the axle into the forward ends of different parts of such slots will effect multiple angular "adjustments between the blade member and the axle. Mounted on the transversely extending supporting means or axle is the lower portion of a handle which terminates in forwardly extending means or end portions that are disposed between inwardly extending top and bottom flanges on the U-shaped channel for raising and lowering the blade member relative to the axle regardless of its angularly adjusted position relative thereto. By providing for disengagement of the forward ends of the handle from the channel, movement of the handle relative to the blade member between extreme opposite parking and storage or -plow-hanging positions is permitted.

Numerous other objects and fadvantagesof the inven- 2,811,792 Patented Nov. 5, 19547 tion will be apparent as it is better understood from the following description, which, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, discloses a preferred embodiment thereof.

`In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a top plan view of a snow plow embodying the features of the invention with the blade member shown in full and broken lines, respectively, in extreme angularly adjusted positions relative to the transverse supporting means or axle;

Fig. 2 isa side elevation of the plow of Fig. 1, with different adjustable positions of the handle shown in broken lines;

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view showing one arm of the blade-supporting bracket mounted on the axle, with the latter engaged in a rearward adjusted position in the forward end of the rear part of the multi-part slot in the bracket;

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of Fig. 5, showing the axle in a forward adjusted position in the forward end of the front part of the multi-part slot in the supporting bracket;

Fig. 5 is a perspective View, as seen from above, showing the blade member in an intermediate position parallel to the axle, with the latter in its rearward adjusted position at both sides; and

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 5 with the blade member in its left-hand angular position, as seen in full lines in Fig. 1.

Referring more particularly to Fig. 1 of the drawings. the adjustable snow plow therein illustrated comprises laterally spaced ground-engaging means or wheels 11 supporting and removably rotatably mounted in any suitable manner on a transverse supporting means or axle 12, a blade member 13, a mounting bracket 14 interconnecting the blade and the axle, and handle means 15 mounted intermediate its ends on the axle. The blade member 13 preferably is made from a llat piece of steel curved forwardly at its lower edge (as best seen in Fig. 2), and provided with suitable cam lugs or lifters 16 (Fig. 4) secured by welding, or the like, to its bottom corners to protectthe blade and guide it over sidewalk cracks and other irregularities in the surface being plowed.

The mounting bracket 14 is substantially U-shaped in plan and comprises a base portion 17 removably secured to the rear surface of the blade member 13 (Fig. 4) and a pair of rearwardly extending arms 18 spaced laterally from each other (Fig. 5). The bracket 14 preferably is formed as a unitary channel to provide vertically spaced and inwardly extending top and bottom flanges 19, for a purpose to be later explained, or such flanges may be formed by horizontal plates secured to the main body of the supporting bracket if desired. The vertical or main body portion of each arm 18 is provided with a multi-part slot (Figs. 3 and 4) which, in the embodiment herein illustrated, comprises a relatively short upper or rear part 20 and a longer lower or front part 21 interconnected at their rear ends and each terminating in a forward end spaced longitudinally of the arm from each other. As will be appreciated from the following description, each multi-part slot may be formed of more than two such parts, if desired, so long as the several parts interconnect with each other and each terminates in a separate forward end, since those forward ends comprise selectively adjustable positioning means for determining the angular relationship betwen the blade member 13 and the axle 12. Regardless of the particular conformation -so-as to slidably engage the latter, which thus extends The handle means 15 is'vsecured tothe. axle. 12to faA cilitate the application of plow-moving force thereto in a. direction perpendicularto the axle. In. the preferred embodimentbest. illustrated `in Figs. l and 2,V the handle. 15 yis.substantially. U-shaped in plan,v although any other suitableshape may be employed, is curved forwardly adjacent its lower ends, and is of tubular construction with.

a. convenient transverse; grip 231, secured in yany Idesired manner. to its upper end. The sidernembers or legs ofthe handle 15 preferably converge adjacent their forwardly curvedV portions* and the latter, diverge and terminate in forwardly extending, and. laterally spaced means or ends` 2,4 whichj normally are disposed between the topand4 bottom anges 19 ofthe bracket 14. Adjacent the narrowest part f the handle 15, its side members are suitablyapertured to receive the transverse means or axle 12, and these apertured portions of the handle may be flattened laterally, if desired, for vertical strengthening and to facilitate such mounting on the axle. In order to further strengthen this connection between the handle and the axle, they may be welded togetheras shown at 25 in Fig. 5, or retaining washers 26 may be welded or otherwise secured to the axle 12 as shown in Fig. 6 to limit outward lateral movements of the handle legs on the axle while permitting inward movement thereof toward each other and against their normal tendency to spring apart,

With either s uch mounting of the handle 15 on the axle 12, the vertical spacing between the flanges 19 of the bracket 14 is sufficiently greater than the vertical di? mension of the terminal ends 24 of the handle disposed therebetween that the handle may be moved between its upper full line position of Fig. 2 and its broken lineposition 15a therein without moving the blade member 13 relative to the axle 12, in order to accommodate, or adapt the plow to, operators of different heights, regardless of which parts of the slots 20, 21 are engaging' the axle 12. Likewise, further downward movement of the handle, as to its broken line position 15b, will liftvthe blade member 13 olf the ground orvother surface supporting the wheels 1,1 to itsL broken line position 13a of Fig. 2, except when the axle 12 is in its rearmost position in both of the slots 20, 2,1, as shown in Fig.y 5. vAnd in all positions of the axle, except that of Fig. 5, upward pressure against the grip p ortion 23 of the handle from itsl full line position of Fig. 2 will press the blade member into close contact with the surface being cleaned to facilitate a scraping action. Also, by disengaging the forward ends 24 of handle 15 from the mounting bracket 14, as by moving both ends of axle 12 to their rearmost position of Fig. for example, the handle may be moved forwardly relativeto the blade member to a parking position shown in broken lines at a` in Fig. 2, or dropped to a storage or plow-hanging position illustrated therein at 15d. As shown in Fig. 5, it is preferred that the lower ends 24 of handle 1,5 be so shaped and dimensioned that when the axle 12 is disposed in the forward ends of the rear parts of the slots in both arms 18, as therein illustrated, the tips of those terminal ends of the handle will be free of the mounting bracket 14. Such arrangement enables the above-described movements of the handie to its positions 15C or 15d of Fig. 2 whenever the axle 12 is in its rear position of Fig. 5 parallel with the blade 13, although the handle is welded to axle 12- With the modified mounting of handle 15 on the axle 1 2 shownV inY Fig.v 6, the terminal ends 214 of thehandle may he shaped and dimensioned to engage between the flanges 19 Qf the. menging bracket, if desired, @van when the axle Lis in its rear Parallel Position, 0f Eig- Strid Still, ,saalzls mqyementfths haadleteitsaositieas15a-Q1; 1 54 2.2 igtsrsorms'cts (between the? cafitl 25m-larga 4 of Fig. 2. This is because the necessary disengagement of the" handle from the mounting bracket 14 then may be accomplished by squeezing the lower ends 24 toward each other sufliciently to clear the flanges 19 and moving them up or down relative thereto. It will be appreciated that when the handle is moved to its storage position 15d of Fig. 2, since the` grip portion 23 will be in the plane dened bythe lower surfaces of the wheels 11 and blade member 13, the plowmmay 'be hung vertically by its gripto take up aA minimum ofstorage space.

During use, the present embodiment of the invention may be employed with the blade member 13 disposed in any ofV three angularly adjusted operating positions, namely, that in which'it `is parallel to the axle 12, a lefthand position illustrated inFig. 6 and. in full lines in Fig. 1, or a right-hand position as shown in broken lines in Fig. 1. Adjustment of the blade member 13 to any one of these several positions may be made. merely by moving the. axle 12 or.' the blade member13`and its mounting bracket 14` relative to each other by sliding eitherV or both ends of the axle in the multi-partl slots 20, 21, betweeny their positions of Figs. 3 and 4 against the actionof the spr/ing'22." This may be accomplishedl either manually, or'by foot` pressure against the rear ends of uthe lateralarms 1 8 of the mounting bracket 14 while holding thel axle 12 immobile through the agency of the handle 15. Whenl'the'axle 12 is thus disposed in either ofth'e parts 20 or 21 of the two multi-part slots, the spring 22'w'ill function to retain the same in the forward end portions thereof. If the axle is thus disposed in the upper parts 20,V ofthe two slots 20, 21, or in both of the lower parts 2-1-thereof, the blade member 13 will be positioned parallelto the axle. If the axle is disposed in the lower part 21 of the slot in the left-hand arm 18 and in the upper part 20 of the slot in the right-hand arm 18, the blade member 13 will be resiliently retained in its left-hand position asillustrated in full lines in Fig. 1 and in Fig. 6. On the other hand, the blade member will be disposed in its right-hand broken line position of Fig. 1 when the axle 12 is engaged in the lower part 21 of the right-hand slot and in the upper part 20 of the slot in the left-hand arm 18. In any of these several positions of the blade'member 13, except that of the modification'of Fig. 5 when the axle 12 is in its rear position parallel to the blade member, the diverging forward ends 24 of the handle 15 normally will be disposed between the top and bottom anges 19 of the channel bracket 14 to enabley selective vertical movements of the blade member 13 relative to the axle 12 during movement of the plow, as previously described. Also, as previously mentioned, the multi-part slots 20, 21 may be so designed, if desired, as to comprise more than the two forward end portions in each herein illustrated, with such forward endportions spaced longitudinally from each other to provide additional selectively adjustable angular positions for ythe blade member 13 relative to the axle 12. And

' itv also will be appreciated that the forward end portions of the multi-part slots preferably are arranged so that the axle 12 will be horizontal when in any of its several adjustable positions, whereby the full length of the lower edge of the blade member 13 and both wheels or groundengaging members 11 will rest evenly on the same supporting planefwhen in use, regardless of the adjusted angular relationship between the axle and the blade member.

I t is thought that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description, and it will be apparent that various changes maybe made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing all of its materialadvantages, the formhereinbefore described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

1. An angularly adjustable plow, comprising handle means, transvrge means seuredto said handlemeans adjacent the lower end thereof, a blade member, and a mounting bracket secured to said blade member for supporting the same a-nd comprising rearwardly extending arms spaced laterally from each other with longitudinal slots in each interconnected at their rear ends and terminating in forward end portions spaced from each other longitudinally of said arms, said transverse means extending through and slidably engaging said :slots so as to be substantially parallel to said blade member when disposed in the same forward end portions of said slots in both arms of said bracket and forming `an angle with said blade member when disposed in dilferent forward end portions of the slots in said arms.

2. A plow according to claim l, wherein said mounting bracket includes vertically spaced and inwardly directed flange means, and said handle means includes means extending forwardly from said transverse means disposed between said ange means for cooperation therewith to raise and lower said blade member relative to said transverse means.

3. A plow according to claim 2, wherein said handle means is mounted on said transverse means for selective disengagement of said forwardly extending means thereof from between said ilange means to enable said handle means to be moved relative to said mounting bracket to extreme parking and plow-hanging positions.

4. An adjustable plow, comprising laterally spaced ground-engaging means supporting a transverse axle, a blade member, and a bracket secured to said blade member for adjustably mounting the same on said axle, cornprising rearwardly extending longitudinal arms spaced laterally from each other and each having a multiplepart slot `slidably engaging said axle, each part of each said slot being interconnected at its rear end with each other said part and terminating in a forward end spaced longitudinally from the forward end of each other said part of the same multiple-part slot, whereby selective movements of said axle -into the forward ends of different parts of said slots will efect multiple angular adjustments between said blade member and said axle.

5. An adjustable plow acccording to claim 4, including means for retaining said axle in engagement with the forward ends of said multiple-part slots.

6. An adjustable plow according to claim 5, wherein said bracket is provided with vertically spaced top and bottom angcs, and a handle mounted on said axle and having forwardly extending means disposed between said top and bottom flanges for raising and lowering said blade member relative to said axle.

7. An adjustable plow according to claim 6, wherein said retaining means comprises spring means interconnecting said axle and said bracket.

8. An adjustable plow according to claim 7, wherein said handle is substantially U-shaped in plan and mounted intermediate its ends on said axle, with the forward ends of said handle comprising said forwardly extending means disposed between the top and bottom flanges of said bracket.

9. An adjustable plow according to claim 8, wherein the forward ends of said handle are mounted for selective disengagement from said bracket to permit movement of said handle relative to said blade member between extreme opposite parking and plow-hanging positions.

l0. In an adjustable plow according to claim 9, guide means mounted on said blade member for engaging the ground to protect the lower edge of the blade member and lift the same over surface irregularities.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 333,572. Taft Jan. 5, 1886 830,871 Wilken Sept. l1, 1906 2,146,021 Lohr et al. Feb. 7, 1939 2,513,230 Bourne et al. June 2.7, 1950 

